We’re just one month into the New Year and already we’ve had two power-cuts. In recent years the frequency and duration of these power outages has increased, to the point that now a torch is permanently stationed on my desk and we keep a healthy supply of candles and matches to hand.

There’s never any information on the cause of the power-loss; some people theorize that it’s our growing dependency on wind farms that’s to blame; it’s also possible that housing development in our area is responsible for some of them, and of course the weather could be part of the problem. Regardless, it has fostered a bit of a “prepper” mentality, and now with the Corona virus looming we’ve decided to build up a little stock of essentials. Even if disaster doesn’t strike it should save us a bit of money in the long run; after all, China seems to feature one way or another in the manufacture, processing and packaging of a very wide range of goods these days, and whether the virus rampages globally or not the supply chain will likely be disrupted and prices will rise.

Our list of essentials naturally includes doggy items. Thanks to Biggles’ relentless beach-combing activities we already have a sizable collection of tennis balls, but we’re adding a couple of extra bags of kibble to that along with extra boxes of biccies, a few months’ supply of worming and anti-flea meds, and an extra pack or two of fishy bites. There are of course two problems with this stock-building: one of them is called Biggles, and the other is called Beanie.

I’ve explained that the extra stuff we’re getting is strictly for emergencies only, and I’ve made it clear that attempted raids are an offence deserving of the harshest penalty, namely getting chased around the kitchen while a humie shouts “Right! That’s it! I’m gonna tickle your bottom!”. Bottoms have indeed been tickled, but those raid attempts are still happening. In Beanie’s case I think the problem lies in the definition of what constitutes an emergency. As she sees it, there’s food in the house that isn’t on a one way trip to her tummy, and that right there is a full-on, double red alert.

In Biggles’s case, well there comes a time in every day when a Beagle boy just has to get something; it could be a sock, a sheet of sandpaper, or indeed an item from the emergency cupboard, but whatever “it” happens to be, he’s got to have it. He has made a couple of minor scores, but in general our emergency supplies are reaching the point where we feel ready to cope with some bumps in the road.